He was ordained in St. Louis on Sept. 9, 1951, and was sent to start a congregation in San Antonio.

“I knew he wanted to go to a place and start a church from scratch, not reap the benefits of something that was already established,” said the Rev. Bill Tucker, Concordia's current senior pastor. “Clearly the Holy Spirit planted that seed in him.”

The mission church began in an area near Basse and Blanco roads with 37 members.

To Merkens, a former baseball standout, incorporating athletics into the church was imperative, so Concordia Lutheran built an air conditioned gymnasium in 1960.

“They come to play, they stay to pray,” many recall Merkens saying.

The congregation grew to 4,000 members under his leadership. It's now located on a nearly 50-acre complex on Loop 1604 and Huebner Road and has more than 6,000 members.

Merkens was regarded as a church growth expert and conducted hundreds of seminars on that topic around the nation and in 14 countries.

The author of seven books, he also was vice president of the denomination for 15 years.

In 1993, he announced he would “reposition” into other areas of ministry at the church and prepare for his successor.

The Rev. William G. Thompson took over as senior pastor in 1994 and led the congregation to its current location. Tucker succeeded Thompson in 2001.

All the while, Merkens continued to support the church and other ministries.

“He never saw himself as actually being retired,” Tucker recalled. “He saw himself as being transitioned into other parts of ministry.”

After he left the church, Merkens devoted his time to consulting and speaking at conferences as an associate with Pathway Lutheran Ministries.